Bell or speak?

[swee'pea99]

I think it depends on the route/number of encounters. If it's happening every few hundred yards, that's one thing, and an 'assertive' approach may be called for. I tend to encounter people only occasionally, and generally just slow down till they register my presence (which only ever takes a second or three), then they invariably move aside apologetically, and I pass. Everybody's happy, and it's added 8 seconds to my way home. I can spare 'em.

Oh, they were twats. You do meet them sometimes.

 

[Norm]

When on a shared path (and cycling on the banks of the Thames is contentious anyway) I wait for the peds to hear my wheezing and puffing (which is louder than most bells anyway) and thank people who have moved aside. I see no reason not to be courteous.

I've only encountered twats a couple of times, each time I've stopped to have a chat, pointed out that I have walked the path more often than cycling it. I once asked a larger group whether they'd prefer bell or voice. That split opinion because, as has been seen above, there were votes for both so I asked them to let me know when they had agreed amongst themselves and cycled off with a cheery wave.

Most of the time, though, I take a meeting with a ped as an excuse to have a breather. Having written all this, though, I now want to go out for a ride.

Catch you later... assuming I don't get dumped in the river by some radicalised rambler.

 

[madguern]

Had a similar situation in the lanes on island last year with horse riders. First time, my fault didn't declare I was there so told off and told to shout out I was there. 15 mins later met another horse rider , dutifuly shouted out "BEHIND YOU", told off for shouting told better to keep quiet!

So now I Just shout, ring bell and keep quiet to all users

Cheers

 

[Debian]

Funny that, some of us are ramblers as well as cyclists. What the OP came across was a bunch of rude morons and you get those using all forms of transport, be it feet, pedal, hoof or motor.

Well, I used to walk in the country a lot but I was never a Rambler, a rambler maybe although I preferred the simpler term hiker.

I have had to deal with Ramblers and with the Ramblers Association, as well as their buddies GLEAM and similar organisations on a semi-pro basis for many years until fairly recently. Almost without exception Ramblers (note the capital R) are self-opinionated bombastic twunts who will not rest until every unsurfaced route in the country is for them alone.

 

[wafflycat]

Be prepared for the 'It's the law to use a bell' It isn't. You need to provide an audible warning of your presence but you don't have to use a bell to provide that audible warning.

 

[tyred]

Squealing brakes bring them to attention

 

[wafflycat]

Well, I used to walk in the country a lot but I was never a Rambler, a rambler maybe although I preferred the simpler term hiker.

I have had to deal with Ramblers and with the Ramblers Association, as well as their buddies GLEAM and similar organisations on a semi-pro basis for many years until fairly recently. Almost without exception Ramblers (note the capital R) are self-opinionated bombastic twunts who will not rest until every unsurfaced route in the country is for them alone.

Obviously I'm the exception then. As is my husband and my son, as we're all (or have been in case of son) members of RA. Indeed, our local RA group were *brilliant* with my then young offspring, encouraging him on the local walks, so by age 7 he'd done The Norfolk Coastal Path, Peddars' Way, Fen Rivers Way, Nar Valley Walk and all sorts of other walks in Norfolk, Suffolk, Cambridgeshire and Lincolnshire and during that time taught him to walk responsibly and with courtesy for others in the countryside.

 

[Sheffield_Tiger]

Almost without exception Ramblers (note the capital R) are self-opinionated bombastic twunts who will not rest until every unsurfaced route in the country is for them alone.

Dunno about the "almost without exception", maybe we are doing the same as drivers who only notice the RLJ'ing cyclist etc

However, people who class themselves as "ramblers" tend to have a single-minded view of the outdoors, me, I'm just a walker, or if I'm feeling energetic, a "hill walker"

If I've been 3 miles or 20 miles, I still say I've "been for a walk"

The classified "ramblers" do SEEM to have this air of "my great grandfather fought off a gamekeeper on the Kinder trespass, WE won the right to roam, not you!" towards other people.

Maybe it's a misconception, like the "all cyclists ignore the rules" thing caused by an awkward minority.


Now, to switch sides

I noticed a lot of MTB tracks OFF the beaten paths to avoid mud and so on, causing further erosion. I noticed a lot of this at the weekend, and it irked a little as it is not good practice

 

[Norm]

10 miles off road, I met one other cyclist and a pair of walkers. The cyclist completely blanked me, the walkers returned my greeting.

Ignorant people, these cyclists, aren't they.

 

[Debian]

Dunno about the "almost without exception", maybe we are doing the same as drivers who only notice the RLJ'ing cyclist etc

However, people who class themselves as "ramblers" tend to have a single-minded view of the outdoors, me, I'm just a walker, or if I'm feeling energetic, a "hill walker"

If I've been 3 miles or 20 miles, I still say I've "been for a walk"

Well all I can say is that I, along with others, spent several years working with rights of way issues including dealing with the courts and the government. We have prepared legal arguments, and appeared in court where our opponents, in the main were the Ramblers Association, GLEAM and the CLA.

The RA were then, I don't know about now as they seem to be changing their image, very much anti any access to unsurfaced rights of way by any other than walkers. Even recreational horse riders got up their collective noses. As for any form of wheeled transport - devil spawn! The attitude was mirrored by all of the rank and file ramblers that we came across in the field - country paths, whether they be footpaths, bridleways, RUPPs, BOATs or RBs, should all be proritised for walkers.

As for some of the public statements by Ms buck-teeth such as "get these idiots off our paths" (with our meaning Ramblers).....

I'm sure there must be some nice Ramblers but I never met one.

 

[Rhythm Thief]

They were prats. A cheery good morning/afternoon/evening is a great way to alert walkers. Once or twice when I got a particularly stupid bell comment I blatted the airzound, and then asked innocently, "What, like that?" *stunned silence*

Funky pedestrian rambler moment.

+1 on them being berks, by the way. The Tissington Trail isn't solely for the use of walkers and there's no call to be sarky about cyclists without bells who are going at less than walking pace.

 

[Norm]

I'm loving this use of the word "berks". Being a life-time resident of that county, it's origin always amuses me. Oh, and that page from dictionary.com might not be work safe - even though people are happily using the term on here.

 

[Rhythm Thief]

"Berk" is a good word for exactly that reason. I use it because I'm well aware of its etymology and I find it a useful way to be extremely rude about someone in a socially acceptable context.

 

[Norm]

Hee Hee

I haven't yet figured out what, if anything, to say to my daughter, though. 9 years old and merrily using it, as do pretty much all of the school kids round here.

Funny how, in around 75 years, it went from something rude to something that you'd snigger about when James Burke came on the telly to one of the more innocuous insults currently available.

 

[PaulSecteur]

I'm loving this use of the word "berks".

I did not know its origins, but by happy coincidence it was submitted instead of the word it represents.